A summer story
by Mylandofsleepingroses
Summary: This is a little story about the later days of ghost hunt... sort of like a season 2, but really imagined. This will be fun...
1. Chapter 1 The beggining is when it ends

Note:

I own nothing. Not the characters, not the anime.

I thought I'd try something simple for my first go, so bear with me, cause I WILL do more!

"Hey!" Mai yelled as Ayako dumped a bottle of soda on her.

"Happy birthday!" Ayako said, with a much to big smile on her face to be just for that. "Thanks…" Mai was glaring at her under her now wet bangs. "Eh…" John was in the corner trying to not get dunked with the other bottle Ayako was holding, "You okay, Mai?"

"Well, at least someone cares" Mai thought to herself. She didn't have time to answer before the always weird, rude and mean, yet totally handsome( at least to her) Naru stepped in the room with a bored expression, as usual. "You know, it would be nice to see you people actually do something worth being done here, once and a while" he said through partly closed eyes. He frowned at Ayako as she was eyeing him with her soda bottle. "So, what'd ya get me, Nawu? Mai said in that voice she knew she was going to pay for using later. "Nothing" he said bluntly. "Yeah, what could I expected". She was feeling pretty ticked off.

"That's okay Mai, I have something for you!" Ayako sprang at Mai with the other soda bottle, when Monk came in and ending up being the one dunked. "What the heck? What was that!?" he was flailing his arms in the air, with soda all over his new shirt. "Oops…" Mai could see Ayako was enjoying this. "Hmm…" they noticed Lin was in the room then. "Would you stop dunking people? My computer is going to get zapped." he wasn't even looking at them. "Geez, Lin. What do you do on there anyway, Facebook?" Seemed like a reasonable assumption. "Research."

He was still staring unblinkingly at his computer, yet Mai could tell he was enjoying the sight of Monk getting dunked, even if through the corner of his eye. "So Mai, what do you want to do for your birthday today?" Masako said in the opposite side of the room. "Um…" she hadn't thought of that, "Well, how about the amusement park." "Ooh.." Masako said gently " to go on a rollacoster with Naru, huh? How romantic." Mai couldn't believe what she just heard. "Say what?!" She only hoped he hadn't heard. "A don't like rollacosters." Naru said while looking at a book." "Good, cause I'd never go on one with you, anyway." "Masako always had to ruin chances like these… wait, what was I thinking!?" Mai thought. "No worries, Mai." John said with a smile, "I'd be happy to join you. "Thanks John." he was always so kind, which is what led her to become a Christian at one point. Her life had changed since the day she found out she was part of the team, even if she was still getting used to things.

"When do ya want to go?" Ayako was still snickering at Monk.

"Now!" Mai said cheerfully. "Unless you can't go yet, Nawu?" "You should really listen to what I say at the end of the day. I already said I was busy." DANG! "Okay…" she was feeling very, very ticked off now. "Seriously!" Ayako said and took Mai by the arm and stomped off.

"You know… Naru," Lin finally seemed to get a little out of his shell, now that everyone was gone besides them., "Mai has gone through a lot… you should treat her better…" he sealed up again. "I don't have time for emotions to rule my mind." Naru said. "She'll be fine without me, she's strong." "She is strong , but is still only a girl."

They took a while to say anything, before Naru got up. "She'll be fine. I don't have time for her."

I was lazy afternoon before Ayako and Mai were in the park. They had lost the others, since she had taken Mai shopping for unmentionables and expansive chocolate candies, and said something about having "female needs, therefore they had to have a girl's day".

To be continued.


	2. Chapter 2 Memories of Summer hauntings

Note

Uh… yeah. I am the kind of person who likes to fit a lot on one page, so try to bear with me.

"Eh…" Mai was being forced at the moment to try on about five different pairs of shoes at once.

"Those things that you CALL shoes should be fed to wolves, I mean, LOOK at them!" Ayako was apparently used to be some kind of sales person. Mai only saw a normal pair of shoes, but she said "Oh" just to be polite.

Ayako dragged her out of the mall and sat her down on a bench with an ice cream cone( one redeeming thing) "Ok, Mai, where do you want to go now?" Mai's head was still a bit dazed from too much shopping, "Uh… I don't kno…"

she was cut off when there was a scream that sounded from a not far away restroom on the opposite side of the bench.

Mai's head whirled around "Huh!? What on earth?" her mouth gaped as people came pouring out of it. "Aya…" " Come on!" she grabbed Mai (again) by the sleeve and they ran over the catch one of the women who were running out of it. "What's going on!?" through wide eyes and glasses that were glazed with her own breath, she gasped "I don't… know… it's" she looked behind her and started running again.

"What are we going to do, just stand here? Let's go see!" Ayako was as confident as ever, maybe a little TOO confident. "No! We should get out of here! I mean, what if it's a murder or something?" "Well, the risk is worth the taking, right?" they paced a little slower, but Mai was too dumbfounded to really have an second opinion at the moment. They kept like that until they reached the now empty doorway. "Hello…?" Mai choked.

Her breath caught in her through as she saw what they had been running from.

It was something on the _ceiling! _

A blacker than night looking thing was staring right at them now, with rusty brown eyes( clearly visible in the fading afternoon light) and had teeth showing long and pointy. It wasn't a man, to be sure, but it wasn't an animal. It sort looked like a… monkey…? But monkeys didn't have teeth like that! She snapped back to reality and saw the thing quickly sliding closer on the ceiling. There was slime dangling from it as it let out a gigantic roar. Not that of anything like an animal. It was the sound of a monster. Or a dead one.

"Aya…KOO!" Mai started to freak out when she noticed Ayako was missing. "Ayako!" she left that place in the doorway and started to make a beeline for safety.

Just then she looked at her watch. "3:45...? But it was that time hours ago! I looked at my watch and…" Mai looked around her; it was following behind her. "Gah!" Why did these things always happen to her? All those times that Naru saved her from falling, which didn't make her feel warm inside, but really made her feel stupid and weak. It felt like one of those times. "Naru, please be coming soon…"

The lazy afternoon sun was now more a darkish color. She looked behind her to see it even closer "What is this, a zombie movie?" she squeaked, trying to sound tough.

"Not in the least." a voice sounded from her head. "Whaaa!?" "Haven't you guessed it? This is one of your nightmares. Only this is real."

"No,no,no!" Mai was beyond fainting or screaming " This has to be some kind of…"

The world seemed to get darker and slow down as she looked at her surroundings. All, everything, and everyone was gone. The place had changed too. This wasn't an amusement park anymore. It was the place she used to live as child; the place where her family died.

"I'm sorry, did I make you sad?" the voice in her head taunted. "I don't know who the heck you are or where I am, but where is everyone?"

"In a true nightmare, you have to face the place of all your worst fears alone. And that doesn't mean that you won't get hurt or even…" "STOP!" she pounded on her head with all she could muster. "You can't just get rid of me. I'm here to stay." "Ahhh!" she suddenly got a thought stopping headache and fell down. Was she dying? The thing that was chasing her was gone.

She closed her eyes.

As she drifted off to a dark sleep, the voice in her head slowly said "I see you." which sent chills down her spine, even as she was already dreaming. Or was this a dream in a dream?

None of that mattered. Only… sleep….for now.


	3. Chapter 3 A land of her own

Note: Sorry if I mess this up. I Haven't watched it for months, and I even know if the place has a kitchen -_-

It was hard to pretend like every bad thing that happened to her was a joke. She had been through too much to be sad anymore, and there was no point in being slowed down by the pains in her heart, so she laughed at herself whenever someone called her stupid for forgetting something or mistaking someone for another. At this moment she felt she didn't have to worry about that. This was her land… yet… how did she know?

She gasped awake. "What!?" she coughed. "She's awake, everyone!" the familiar voice of John came through to her, and the blonde messed up bed hair came in her blurry vision.

"I… where… what…" she gathered her bearings. She was in a hospital. From the looks of it, it was in the middle of night. "How are you?" came John's voice again. "Oh… I'm…" she felt herself being lifted up softly by a woman's hands. There was only a slight pain in her neck . "I'm okay." she finally managed. "I was shopping with you when you wanted to sit down on a bench, but when we did, you suddenly passed out!" Ayako was saying. "I remember… hey! But what about that… thing!" Mai choked. "What "thing"?" "A monster, in a restroom… out in the park!" "Why, we didn't go to the park yet, then." Mai was trying to remember more. "… A place… my world… the… dark…" her eyes grew dim. "Oh!" John said worriedly, "we shouldn't crowed her with all this so soon. She's had a hard day. The best we can say, Mai, is that you had gotten too hot, and fainted from all your working you've been doing lately." Mai opened her eyes bigger "But I'm okay now! Don't about me, guys." her head was lifted by Masako's hand and she said "No… you've had something more deep than just overwork. I can see it in your eyes. Just what do you remember?" Mai thought. "I remember… a world. A dark world of…I saw… so many… places. A beach with the tides so high it washed on ton of a house and the sky storming like nothing I can describe, with insistent rain and wind. A… meadow…" she closed her eyes for a moment. "A meadow with flowers and sunshine and yet…it was so… sad… and dead." Masako blinked "Dead? How can a meadow me dead?" "It's just… it's like a world that children see in their dreams, but forget when they grow older… like… a place of lost memories that can't be recovered and nightmares that don't have life." Monk was standing by the bed too, "What on earth did you make her eat, Ayako?!" Ayako glared at him "We didn't even eat our candy before she passed out. I didn't do it!" Mai held out her hands, "No! I'm fine. It was no one's fault, but my own for making you all worry like this." "No, Mai." Lin said opposite the room. "It was only bad luck. Would we really be friends if we were angry at you for doing something you had no control over?" everyone looked at him. "He was already hiding behind the computer screen.

"Come on, can you get up?" John asked Mai. "No, I'm fine with doing it myself." True enough, she got up, wobbled a little, but made it over to the doorway, where Naru was. "Happy, Naru?" she gloated. He looked sleepily at her "For what?" she glared "For _not_ being there when I needed you?" she said, giggling. "You seem fine and the doctor said you don't have any damage other than a slight bruise from falling on the bench." "Ah, sheesh! I can never get any sympathy from you, can I?"

They were back in their office. "Everyone?" Naru announced "We have a new case. I'll explain the details on the way." "Yay! it's been forever…" Mai bounced, only to have her hopes blown down, "Mai, you stay here." "Wha…" " You've just gotten back from being unconscious. Of course you can't go." "But I feel fi…" "No." Mai pouted "Even if I only watch?" "No." "Rrrrrr!" she stomped into the kitchen, where John was finishing a batch of cookies. "Jawn, can you make Naru let me go?" "Afraid not. He's right; you need to stay here." "You too!?" "Come on, it's not that bad. We'll only be about a few days or so." "But that'll take forever." she felt like a kid , begging her parents to let her go to fancy parties. "You'll be fine. There's plenty to do, just take a rest, okay? No working." Mai huffed "Okay…"

"Oh, and Lin will be staying too, since he needs to make sure the camera is in good working order." "Yeah, whatever." Nothing could make her get back from her valley of despair.


	4. Chapter 4 alone in another place

Sorry it took me so long! Not only did I loose inspiration, but I gawt sick 8O Well, here ya are, even if they don't have a kitchen…ish been a while since I watched it DX

Mai was sitting peacefully on couch, with her legs over one end of the chair reading a fantasy book, while Lin was in another room studying up on different types of spiritual creatures and trying too see if anything matched what she had told them about. Mai flicked her hand at the sound of a fly by her ear. _Well, this is boring. _she thought. It had been hours and hours and she was still stuck in the "safety", which was really more of an danger that she was going to chop her head off and bounce around the walls from extreme boredom.

She got up slowly and lazily, and went to the refrigerator.

"_Oh wow! I didn't know even Naru ate ice cream." _she thought, seeing a big jug of vanilla ice cream in the freezer. Of course, it had much more a chance of being Ayako and Monk's spoils. Letting her eye lids droop, she yanked the door shut and put one big scoop of ice cream in a cup. "Lin, ya want some ice cream?" she snickered, thinking of Lin _not _working on something business related at every single moment of every single day. A emotionless "No thanks." came from his direction. She heaved a sigh. _"Oh, why on Earth did I have to get stuck in this place with such a zombie?" _closing her eyes for a moment, she again flicked at the sound of a fly next to her ear. She continued to finish her ice cream, and then looked at her book unexcitedly. She picked it up by one of the pages and with eyes partly closed, kept reading.

She sat up with a start. She saw her book, which had fallen down to the floor. _I must've fallen asleep._ She looked around and saw the window, which had been open since the morning, even though curtains covered it. It looked like it was somewhere around suppertime, and she had an appetite to prove it. Getting up, she went to close the window. _Huh?_ she thought, seeing that it was pitch black outside. _That doesn't make sense…_ she looked out of it and even though the room she was in was lit up by sun, to be sure, since there were no lights, there was a black sky outside. _Now that's weird. _

she shrugged and decided to go and find something to eat. When she got to the kitchen, she opened up a cabinet. She tripped backwards, just as a bat came flying out at her. "Gahh!" she opened her eyes wide to see that the cabinet was covered in cobwebs and she could barely see inside. _But I saw it earlier…_ "Ok, Masako! You can stop playing tricks on me now!" there was no answer. "L-Lin?" she started to get jittery, but made herself stop and breath for a moment. She headed towards the room were she had left Lin working. "Oh, what next!" she shouted angrily, seeing no one in the room, which was also covered in cobwebs. "Ok, this is…just another one of those weird dreams…it was, uh…too…cols in there!" She pondered why her dreams were getting so vivid all of a sudden. If it was, then it was nothing to be scared of, and she'd get through this as soon as something dumped water on her…again.

Letting her head droop slightly, she slowly opened the door to outside. "H-hello?" It wasn't like she had seen in the window, since it was dark, but she could at least see a bit. It must've been evening, but what difference did it make? This was only a over-reacting girl's dream. Nothing could hurt her, and nothing could make her afraid…she would just have to become someone else ,too.


	5. Chapter 5 never run in the dark

The sky was pitch black against the dull gray and brown landscape. If she didn't know any better, she'd say it looked more like one of those deserted cowboy movies, but this place defiantly looked familiar. It was a long town that stretched far beyond where the eye could see, every house the same and old looking. Gathering her hair up, she made a small pony tail and stopped to think. _Where should I g0? This place goes on forever._ She looked on and to her surprise, there was a blackness up ahead. It somewhat like a huge tower. Taking a moment to look, she started walking at a fast pace. It was tall and black as she looked, with rays of dark beams going in as directions. She walked on for a few minutes. She wasn't going very fast, and the tower seemed smaller than it had been before. She couldn't wait for…it was get smaller, like it was fading. She started running. She wasn't going anywhere. The tower was fading and so was the light. "No!" All that she saw vanished just like that. For a moment she just stayed there in utter blackness. _What's happening?_ She tried to move, but she felt no ground, only an complete black veil, and it seemed even more empty than air, like she was floating on nothing. Not floating, but falling. "Help!" she screamed, knowing nothing would come out. Was this what it felt like to die? Just to be in absolutely nothing like this? Shouldn't there be someone to save her from it? Why was she all alone? It…hurt…the stillness, the fear. Her heart hurt, like a child that had been left out in the cold without any reason. She gave it up and just left all feeling completely. "Help…" the words slowly left her lips after taking a time to force them out.

"Ma…" opening her eyes again, she again met with the stillness and black nothing. "Ma…" it came louder now. "Mai!" she held a hand against the sudden light pouring in from all directions.

She sat up with a scream.

"Mai! What happened? You wouldn't wake up!" came Lin's unusually worried voice. He was beside the couch she was laying on with her over the side and her legs over the other end of it. "I…I was…in the kitchen and…it all just…" she gave up and let herself fall on one of shoulders. "How do you feel? I was just about to call a doctor." " No! I'm really fine. I was just…having a deep sleep, that's all." picking her up gently, making her blush, even though he couldn't see, he set her upright on the couch. "I'll make you some something to eat, okay? I'll have to stay with you and make sure that doesn't happen again." she looked down. "I'm sorry I keep making you all worry like this…I'm really an annoyance, aren't I?" he looked surprised. "Why do you keep saying that? You can't help it if you have something like this happen, so why should we be angry?" she stared at him, not knowing what to say. "It's all okay, Mai. As long as you're safe, I don't see anything wrong. Now perk up." he said with a small smile, making Mai even more speechless. "T…thanks, L…Lin." she let out, bringing a quivering smile to her sky face.


	6. Chapter 6 A chance of rain

Update~~~

Ah! :D I'm sooooo sorry for making you awesome people wait so long! I dunno why I was so lazy I couldn't even get myself to SIT DOWN AND TYPE, but I'm back now! :3

I guess I needed to watch some anime to get the obsessive pairing machine in my mind running. I have a bad habit of thinking that if I'm going to make a story, it has to be freaking epic, which my imagination wasn't ready for XD

Lemme see…where were we?

Mai lifted the cup of tea to her mouth. She looked out the window. It was somewhere around 7:00pm. She sitting cross legged on a seat while switching things on the TV . Lin was in the kitchen making something for supper. It had been 3 days since she last had that strange dream. She had gone for a checkup at the doctor, but there was nothing wrong with her. She settled with the conclusion that it had been just a dream, nothing more, nothing less. But the strange thing was that she hadn't even had a dream the past few nights ever since it happened. She didn't really see or feel anything, and it felt like a only a few seconds before morning came. With a sigh she simply gave up looking for something on the TV, seeing as they were either rated R horror movies or romances, making her feel completely embarrassed. It was pretty warm , as well as cloudy outside. There was weather channel said there was a big chance of rain coming in a few hours. The wind was blowing hard outside, making the occasional sounds of light things falling over and windows being pushed on heavily. She sat in the room with the lights on, even though they were dull and needed to be replaced soon. She walked over to the light switch and turned off the lights. She went back to the couch and sat in the peace of the dark room. She breathed in the smell of both Lin's cooking and the faint scent that the room always carried. It reminded her of something she couldn't remember. Something about her childhood a long time ago. She couldn't really explain what it felt like. It was certainly calm, but in a way not completely safe. She guessed all the world was that way, seeming quiet, but it could never be perfectly safe. She quickly brought herself out of her daze and turned on the lights. Lin would think of her as some kind of psycho if she just sat in the dark during daytime. She shook herself and walked over to the kitchen to help with making the food.

Lin was washing dishes while the water was boiling. "Hi." she said shyly. He turned with a look of disgust on his face. "Uh, what's wrong?" she thought maybe she had some kind of smudge on her face. He pointed her finger to the plates. She gaped as she looked. They were covered with strange rubbery black. "What's that?!" "I don't know, I found them like that when I opened up the cabinet." His hands were turning dark with the slippery substance on the plates, even though it barely changed the thick coating on the plates. "I haven't used them for anything except eating…" she shook her head and started trying to wash the plates. She washed and used soap, but it wasn't doing anything for the plates. They put the plates down and then washed their own hands. The goop fell off and stuck to the sink. They both stared at the plates and heaved sighs. "Well, what do we do?" Mai said still getting the soapy black off her hands. "All the dishes are like that. Could it be some sort of trick being played on us?" Lin shook his head. "I doubt anyone's ever found some kind of thing like that, even scientists." Mai looked down, noticing how close she was to him, moving away quickly, while trying not make him notice. "How about we eat out?" Lin put in. She smiled. "Well, I guess it's better than eating out of the pot itself." Lin went back to the stove and turned off the heat, just when steam was beginning to rise from the water. Mai went over to the couch where her bag was. Ever since she became an official member of the team, she'd been told she should always bring thing wherever she went just in case of paranormal activity happening when she didn't expect it. She always carried around things like a small container of holy water given to her by John. Grabbing her shoes, she opened the front door. It was a little cloudy outside, but nothing seeming dangerous. It'd still be a few hours before any chances of rain would be taken into consideration. Lin came out of the doorway shortly after her. There was a restaurant only about a 10 minute walk from where they were. They soon came to the place and from the looks of it, there was not very many other people eating there at the time. Mai opened the door and followed Lin to seats next to a window. It looked really dark and windy outside by now. After ordering, they both ate in silence. No other people were at the other seats, and no one was there, except the occasional waiter going about small errands. Mai looked up at Lin, staring without meaning to. He looked up and she quickly looked back down at her food. "Uh, so, any ideas, uh, about the dishes?" he shook his head. She started eating at quickly as she could. "You don't think I did it, do you?" he looked back up. "Why should I?" she flinched. "Well, uh, because, uh…" "I doubt you'd be able to create or find something like that, that could stick so thickly on the plates." she slightly toyed with her food. "At this point I'm not sure what to think, but I'm sure that no one has ever created such a formula as that." Mai gulped her food uneasily. She finished and wiped her mouth, though she'd had the napkin by her mouth the whole time, being both embarrassed and timid at the same time. She went to the restroom to wash her hands, seeing they were quivering the whole time. She sighed, looking into the mirror. The restroom also had no one in it except her. Letting the icy cold water flow down her sweaty palms, she stared at her reflection. She didn't know why she felt like this, nor what she was feeling to begin with. She felt queasy in her stomach, yet at the same time she liked the feeling. She shook her head, scolding herself for drifting off like that and went to open the door. It wouldn't open.

_Hmm, is it stuck? _she thought. She pulled harder. It still didn't budge. _Oh, come on! How can I possibly get in trouble in a restroom?!_ "Hey! Can someone help me? The door's stuck!" no one answered and she didn't hear anything but the beating her own heart. "Hey! Is anyone out there?" still, no one came. She started panicking. _Ok, Mai, calm down! This is either some kind of trick or something. _"Hello? The door won't open!" Suddenly, the lights switched off and she was left in the dark. "Wha…hey! This isn't funny! Someone help me!" she grabbed for the sink. Once she felt it, she held on to it and tied to calm down. _Ok, Mai, you're good, just stay cool and…_

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt the sink itself slipping away under her, like melting butter.


	7. Chapter 7 The shadow forest

Note:

Hey, ya'll! How r you liking it so far? Does it need more of anything? I assure you, there will be plenty of (hehe) romance in due time, but this'll most likely be going on for a while, being the way I am, so bare with me :3 And I'll update as much as I can, and personally, for me this is where the story starts taking a real plot. It's a little confusing, but hopefully this chapter will better explain. You better be happy, I gave up an idea for a real story for this fan fiction to be awesome! :c This'll most likely make no sense, but I came up with the weird idea and loved it( just me) so sorry if you can't take creativity.

Enjoy! ^_^

Mai desperately grabbed for the sink, or anything even a little bit solid, but nothing was there. She didn't know whether it was slipping or she was falling. Was it happening again? Could she simply have fallen asleep while being on the couch? Was it all a dream? She didn't have time to think before the ground that was shaking violently a moment a go took on a sudden firmness under her feet. She breathed for a few moments before finally opening her eyes. There was nothing to be seen. Or at least, from what she could see at the moment.

She rubbed her eyes with her palms, which actually were strangely hard to feel, like the feeling when your hands fall asleep if you've been laying on them. Her legs were now stronger feeling, but still shaky. A blurry form was beginning to take place all around her, not just her vision was getting adjusted, but it was like it being molded from blobs into material. She shut her eyes for a long time before finally opening them again.

This definitely wasn't the bathroom, or the restaurant for that matter. It was some place she at least thought she'd never seen before, though it felt like something she'd felt once a long time ago, but wasn't able to place what it was. It was a gigantic forest. Only it wasn't like any kind she'd seen in her life.

The trees were black as coal and the leaves seemed to be dissolving in the wind every moment, yet growing back the moment they faded away. There was a very dull light that made it possible to see, but there didn't seem to be a sun, moon or a particular source for it to be coming from. The ground was much like the leaves, crumbling every second and re-growing that in a moment's time, though when you walked through it, instead of folding down like grass usually does, it turned into some kind smoke that went up and floated into the air. The trees were far apart, making walking through the forest easy. The feeling to the whole place was vaguely indescribable in a sense, making Mai think that she could stay there forever and still not be able to describe it. Even though it may have looked very eerie, the whole sense to the place was more calm and peaceful than evil and dark, and even had a slight fragrance to it that one could also never describe. She didn't feel uneasy, despite the looks, but she still felt very jumpy at the what had just happened. Her legs gave way and she let herself fall down into the grass, sending a large puff of sweet smelling smoke into the air all around her.

As she calmed down in the mellow scent of the strange place, she heard a sound. A voice. She again flinched and looked up to see who, or what, was the owner of the voice, though with the odd calming effect of the wood wasn't as jumpy as she wished for this situation. It came again, this time clearer. "Go…go…" she gasped at that. Was this place a place where she didn't belong? Gaining the courage to speak, she said shyly "H-hello…?" She jumped at the sudden outline of something in the forest, coming in her direction. It called out "It's alright, don't be frightened.!" she leaned herself against the smoky grass to try to pretend she wasn't there to begin with, but that thing had apparently been there long enough to notice movement. It came closer and closer until finally she saw who it was. It was the outline of a person, but made completely of shadow. She didn't know how it could be, it was all made of shadow, but yet it stood alone without a person to follow on walls on sunny days. It was girl's voice, deep and sturdy and brave. Her eyes, unlike the rest of her, were made of flowing light. Lights many colors, but mostly purple in the middle. Unlike people, there was no black in the center of her eyes. It just kept going and the light seemed to flow out of her eyes and down her cheeks, making her look almost as if she was crying. Speaking out clear, long and with slight worry, she said "Mai. It isn't safe to be here. You have to come with me out of here." Mai stared at her in awe before realizing what she had just said. "U-uh, I-I can't! Who are you?" she took a step back, thinking she'd turn out to be some kind of demon, but instead she came slowly over to her and gently touched Mai's hand. The feeling was that of a mixture of falling water, silk and sun on your skin all at once. And in a moment they were standing facing a field right beside the forest. "W-what happened to…?" Now that Mai was close to her, she saw that she was only a little older than she was, but still very tall for a person and seemed to be hovering above the ground rather than standing. She let go of her hand, taking away the beautiful feeling that was there a moment ago. "I'm sorry, but that forest is place separated from all others. Once you go into it, you have only a short time before you too become a shadow for the rest of your life." As she spoke, Mai noticed that she was no longer a solid figure that she had been moments ago. She looked like a real shadow, attached to a tree on the side of the forest. "I'm right in front of you right now, even though I look like I'm on the tree. In the forest I am in my true form." Mai looked at her own hand and her gaze drifted down her body. She gasped. Her body looked like it was fading slightly. "What? I didn't , did I?!" "No, it will come back in a moment, if you were there for more than one hour, you completely turn into a shadow." Mai stared down. "What's going on? Where am I? Why am I here?" The shadow girl looked at her with her eyes still just as lighted and flowing. "I am part of you. I am your memories you have forgotten and the mysteries you haven't been able to solve. I am your shadow." Mai froze. "Huh? How could…" "You are inside your own self. You see, that forest is a place deep, deep inside you. I know of everything that's been happening to you. I am you." Mai was gazing open mouthed at her, not knowing what to say or do. "In a way, that forest is your mind's safe haven. A place where it goes when you sleep, while you dream. Of course, everybody has something of such inside them as well, but all are different. All are either a place of evil and despair, love and laughter or even emotions they didn't know they had. You always come here, but not in person, so you don't know it or remember, since you forget about it when you wake. You've always been me and I've always been you." Mai finally had words to speak. "B-but why am I here then? How can I be here?" Her eyes lowered. "I'm afraid I do not know much more than you do, for I am only deep inside you and I only know what you know, but I do know there is great danger in your world. You see, I hear all the things you don't hear, and I understand things you think you can't understand. The day you went to the park. It is a monster. But not only you can just exorcise. It's far more deadly and if you made one false move you might even end up dying. Whether you know it or not, the monster will slowly take hold of each of your friend's, in a way no one will notice and infect them with a poison. This monster was once a demon, but went out into the world consuming evil people's dark sides inside themselves before they were captured and judged. They grabbed hold of them when they were doing the evil, leading them on and helping them commit evil, but in the end letting them be caught without a look back. As it fed on their evil it grew stronger and stronger without anyone's notice before finally it ended up killing someone with a strange illness. The illness is made of something that human's know nothing about. It is made completely of bad intentions and emotions of hate and scorn. The only way to stop it remains in you. Your love for your friends is the way to fight the hate that the poison is made of. Just as that monster collected emotions of hate, I have been collecting emotions of love since the day you were born. The feelings are stored in another place like that forest." Mai remained silent, then said "But…how do I help? What do I do?" She smiled. "I am not doing anything, you are me, you are doing this all by yourself. The way you fight this monster is by defying feeling of hate and untrust for friends and learning what true love is. Tell me, after all the time you've known them, have you grown to truly love them for who they are?" Mai looked down. She had never admitted it, but she'd always been scared that if she trusted someone, they'd turn from her. "I…" she gave a long laugh that seemed to eco through the forest and made her shiver in a wonderful way. "It's alright. I know how you feel. Just how you feel. Never give up, Mai. Remember, there's always someone in the world, even one person, who knows just how you feel, even if it be only yourself." The voice seemed to drift away and the forest too.

She slowly opened her eyes. She was laying down with her arm underneath her head on the sink. She quickly got up and opened the door. She put her hand over her eyes at the sudden light streaming in. "Hello?" Lin came rushing over. "Mai! Are you ok? They said that the door was stuck and the power went off so they couldn't call someone to fix the door. I kept trying to get it open and called for you, but you didn't answer! It's been almost an hour, are you sure your ok?" Mai looked at him with calm eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. Let's go back, ok?" Lin never would have admitted it, but he slightly blushed as he looked away from Mai.


End file.
